Arizona Diamondbacks super utility player Tim Tawa is no stranger to outfield play, and center field in particular. In fact he always saw himself as an outfielder growing up.
“I’ve done a lot of outfield in my life. When I was going into college I thought I was going to be an outfielder. When I went to high school when I was younger in seventh and eighth grade I thought I was going to be an outfielder too. That’s just kind of what my mentality was, and over time it’s developed into this utility role,” Tawa said.
Super utiliy is in fact a label that has been put on him since he’s entered the Diamondbacks organization. He’s played over 1500 outfield innings in his professional career thus far, including 815 of them in center. He also had played over 1400 innings at second base, as well as hundreds of innings on the corners at first and third.
Still it was somewhat of a surprise when Torey Lovullo gave him his first MLB start in center field on May 13 in one of the toughest outfields in league — Oracle Park in San Francisco. Tawa had played mostly second base since making his major league debut April 5, filling in for the injured Ketel Marte.
Now with Marte back, and Jordan Lawlar called up, Lovullo said that most of Tawa’s reps would come in center field against left-hand pitching, platooning with Alek Thomas.
Tawa hadn’t played any center since he was in Double-A Amarillo during the 2024 season. But he was getting ready for it, working with outfield coach Dave McKay, and taking as many reps as he could during practice. Lovullo said that McKay checked off on it, so he didn’t hesitate to give the rookie his first start in center.
“He’s ready to go in the outfield. He’s had a lot of experience in the minor leagues going out there and getting reps there. We drilled him up a little bit in spring training,” Lovullo said.
Tawa’s first difficult chance in center came off a smash from Willy Adames in San Francisco. He had another tough play at Chase Field on Friday night on a ball hit by Ryan McMahon. Both times he was able to use his speed and athleticism to go back on balls over his head.
Tawa described the outfield work he’s been doing to get ready to make these plays.
“It’s a lot of the work that I’ve been doing with Mac [Dave McKay] and also just getting out there for early defense and seeing a lot of balls and getting reads too. I feel comfortable playing outfield. It’s a place where you just go be an athlete. And getting a lot of reps in early defense too has helped also.”
Whenever young players speak about McKay, it’s always with a combination of affection, reverence, and awe. Tawa’s experience has been no different.
“I think it’s just the level of focus and the dedication he has to the craft. He’s somebody that from the moment that I stepped out there has expressed his belief in me And that’s also meant a lot, going out there with his confidence and blessing. Helps me play free. Helps me just go do what I know I’m capable of,” Tawa said.
McKay is also known to hold players accountable. His tracking sheet of positive and negative plays that are made by his outfielders is legendary. Nobody wants to end up with a black mark on his sheet.
“He’s intense,” Tawa said. “He’s locked in. He knows what he’s doing. And so I’m trying to learn as much as I can and soak it up and go apply it out on the field.”
Tawa has been having success at the plate too. He’s batting .225/.315/.456, .771 OPS. That’s good for a 112 OPS+, or roughly 12% better than league average. He has five homers and 12 RBI in 79 at bats. While the batting average may not impress, he’s hit into more than his share of bad luck. According to Statcast Tawa has a .274 expected batting average, based on the quality of his contact.
“I feel very good about putting him in a game at any time,” said Lovullo. “If that type of at-bat is needed. It’s a great luxury to have somebody that can play both infield and outfield at the level he can.”